Before Gov. Tom Corbett addressed the Main Line business community at the Drexelbrook in Drexel Hill Tuesday night, he promised to be brief since dinner had not yet been served.

“I have learned over the course of the last few years those who speak right before dinner ought to speak quickly,” he said to begin his 13-minute speech.

Corbett was the featured speaker at the Main Line Chamber of Commerce’s Red Carpet Dinner and awards presentation, talking about the importance of keeping businesses in the state and what he has done to help them.

“I don’t believe the government runs the economic engine,” said Corbett. “You run the economic engine and I congratulate you on that.”

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Citing the fact that Pennsylvania has the 19th largest economy in the world, Corbett said the $2.3 billion transportation bill recently signed into law will keep businesses in the state.

“And to have an infrastructure that was crumbling, wasn’t being taken care of, transit systems that were going to have to close some lines, would not be the picture we would want to sell when we’re trying to bring businesses into Pennsylvania and create new businesses, and keep your business,” he said.

Corbett also spoke about eliminating the state’s inheritance tax, which he says affects small mom-and-pop stores and about 95 percent of farms that are family businesses.

“What we’re trying to do is allow you to keep your businesses and not have to sell them just to pay the inheritance tax. You can pass on what you build without that tax penalty to the next generation,” said Corbett, adding that it doesn’t exempt businesses on the federal level.

On the subject of taxes, Corbett has been known for never raising taxes in the three years he has been governor, but at the same time he has passed three on-time budgets that have promoted private-sector job growth and protecting the taxpayers with controlled government spending.

Corbett did emphasize how he wants to help businesses by easing some of their taxes as enticement to start them.

“We look to you to grow the economy, and I want to know what we can do, frankly, to give you fair regulation. What can we do in the area of taxation to help you grow? he said.“We need revenue, we certainly have obligations, but we can do it smarter and we can do it better. ... It will continue to grow, so long as they don’t screw it up in Washington.”

Encompassing tens of thousands of businesses in the area, the Main Line Chamber is one of the groups that Corbett calls the “true economic engine of Pennsylvania.”

“Keep doing what you do best, and that’s creating jobs for the people here in Pennsylvania. Thank you for what you do,” he said.